Self-Driving Minivans? Google's New Company Is Making Them With Chrysler

Chrysler's partnership with Waymo, a self-driving car company spun out of Google's efforts, has resulted in a 100 self-driving minivans.

Waymo is a company working under the auspices of Alphabet, Google's self-created holding company that often focuses on moonshot-style technology. While few would think of "moonshot" and "minivan" in the same sentence, Waymo CEO John Krafick says in a Medium post that the cars will allow the company to "learn how people of all ages, shapes, and group sizes experience our fully self-driving technology."

The first images of the Waymo-Chrysler minivan.

Waymo

They also want to learn how to compete with Elon Musk's Tesla, which earlier this year managed to turn a profit on the back of its sales of clean car credits, as well as reduced costs on the production of its coming Model 3, with which Tesla will aim to take on the compact market as well as the sports car. In taking the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan and making it self-driving, Waymo is looking to take on a markets beyond Tesla's.

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The back of the Waymo-Chrysler minivan.

Waymo

"Before starting production in October," Krafick says, the company has put these early vehicles through their paces at our own test track in California, and FCA's [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles] Chelsea Proving Grounds in Chelsea, MI and their Arizona Proving Grounds in Yucca, AZ." The company hopes to have the minivans on public roads by the end of 2017.

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